Friday, April 15, 2011

World War I, " the Great War," involved all of the great powers of Europe and killed more than eight million soldiers. Discuss the reasons which led to the rising international tensions that sparked World War I.

World War I, which began in 1914, was the largest and greatest war that the world had ever seen up until this time period. There were millions of soldiers killed along with millions of civilians. This war took place between all of the major powers in Europe including, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, France, Britain, Italy, and Siberia. These countries made up separate alliances of their own, in order to bring more power and make themselves stronger. World War I was sparked by several different factors including the fact that the European countries were not unified, and there was no higher power that kept them unified, as well as the fact that there was extreme racism among the people, but the cause for tension that directly began World War I was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria-Hungary, in Serbia by the Black Hand, an organization for the union of all Serbian people.

By the time of World War I, Germany and Austria-Hungary were already in an alliance. Serbia allied with France and Russia, which were majors powers during the time period. Britain allied with France, Russia, and Serbia, and Italy allied with German and Austria-Hungary because of their connection with Austria-Hungary through the Church. These were the major powers that fought during World War I. "Should, contrary to their hope, and against the loyal desire of the two High Contracting Parties, one of the two Empires be attacked by Russia the High Contracting Parties are bound to come to the assistance one of the other with the whole war strength of their Empires, and accordingly only to conclude peace together and upon mutual agreement" (doc 1). This excerpt was taken from the agreement between Austria-Hungary and Germany to be in an alliance, and to defend one another if one was attacked by Russia.

The time period before World War I was filled with strife and fighting amongst the European countries. This was because of the fact that the countries were not in anyway unified with each other. "The states of Europe were like individuals living in a primeval state of nature marked by incessant strife between one and another. They acknowledged no higher authority that might have forced them to keep the peace" (doc 5). Each individual country wanted to be Europe's leading power, which caused much fighting and disagreement amongst the countries themselves. The countries also fought amongst each other because of the fact that there was such racism in Europe. Houston Stewart Chamberlain, an author during this time period, stated, "The races of mankind are markedly different in the nature and also in the extent of their gift" (doc 3). This author clearly did not think that all men were created equally, and he could have had an influence on the thoughts of the people at this time.

Franz Ferdinand was murdered in Siberia, causing the tension to spill over and beginning World War I. In a letter from William II to Tsar Nicholas II states, "The unscrupulous agitation which has been going on for years in Servia, has lead to the revolting crime of which Archduke Franz Ferdinand has become a victim" (doc 8). Franz Ferdinand was killed due to the anger and disagreement that has been ensuing between Serbia and Austria-Hungary. Franz Ferdinand was killed by and organization called the Black Hand which worked for the unification of all Serbian people. The laws of the Black Hand state, "This organization prefers terrorist action to intellectual propaganda, and for this reason it must remain absolutely secret" (doc 6). The Black Hand believed that they were working for the common good of all Serbian people by assassinating Franz Ferdinand. They did not realize that it would be the beginning of one of the largest wars to date.

The assassination of Franz Ferdinand was the event that sparked World War I. There were tensions already built up among these leading European powers, due to several reasons. The racism in Europe and the disconnect among the countries were the things that lead up to the beginning of World War I, but Franz Ferdinand's death was the event that started it all. It pushed Austria-Hungary over the edge, and they declared war on Serbia for the death of Franz Ferdinand primarily causing World War I.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Joseph Stalin was the brutal leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1922 until his death in 1953. He was a Communist ruler, who was responsible for the deaths of millions of Russian people. He led the Soviet Union through World War II, in which he played a major role in defeating the German Nazi army. Stalin executed or imprisoned anyone who opposed his regime, making him an extremely tyrannical leader. “He took absolute control of nearly every aspect of Soviet life. He dictated where people lived, who held political office, which movies were made, what books and newspapers were published, and what education Soviet children received” (Márquez, 2004). Although Stalin protected Russia by fending off the Nazis, he was an extremely oppressive leader in Russia’s history in the sense that he killed three million Russian people and caused their suffering for many years, which is why Stalin was ultimately more harmful to Russia than beneficial.

Joseph Stalin was born on December 18, 1878 in Gori, Georgia. His parents, Vissarion and Ekaterina, were serfs when he was born. His father later became a cobbler, and was prosperous for a short time. Vissarion began to work at a shoe factory when his business as a cobbler had failed. Stalin was a young child when his father left his home, never to be seen again by his family. Ekaterina was forced to take small jobs in order to support her family of two. Stalin had been beaten by both his mother and his father, which could attribute to the way he chose to run his regime once he became ruler.

Stalin was the best student at his childhood school in Gori, but he would at times get into trouble. He graduated from school in 1894, and his mother urged him to become a priest. He entered the Tbilisi theological seminary at the wish of his mother. Stalin was extremely dedicated to his studies while in the seminary and received excellent grades. However, there were very strict rules in the seminary, and the things that Stalin could read were greatly limited. Stalin himself commented on his experience in the seminary saying, “The whole atmosphere round me was saturated with hatred of Tsarist oppression, and I threw myself whole-heartedly into revolutionary work” (Murphy, 1945). In order to act out against these rules, he created a secret socialist group within the seminary. Stalin’s grades began to fail at the seminary, and he began to act out more and more. He was eventually expelled from the seminary before his sixth and final year could begin because he failed to take the required exam that would advance him forward. This is when he first chose to become a Marxist. Stalin’s difficult early life and restrictive education are what led him to become the tyrannical leader that he was in the twentieth century.

In 1917, the Russian Revolution took place in which the Bolsheviks, a Russian revolutionary group, rose up against the Russian government. Stalin became a member of the committee for the Bolsheviks; they supported Lenin’s view of wanting to overthrow the government. The Bolsheviks rebelled against the government, and the government fought back. Lenin, being the leader, feared for his life during this time period. Stalin’s major role in the Russian Revolution was convincing Lenin to run away to Finland in order to avoid being killed. Stalin was portrayed, through books and pictures from that time period, as having a large and important role in the October and February Revolutions that made up the Russian Revolution; although he really did not even have a role.

In 1918, the Russian Civil War broke out between Lenin’s Red Army and the White Army, an alliance of anti-Bolsheviks. “The Civil War began in Russia. Stalin commanded the forces in Tsaritsyn and St. Petersburg” (Naik). Stalin killed thousands of people who opposed the revolution. He also killed innocent people by burning down villages in order to scare people into cooperating with him. Lenin was disappointed in Stalin for causing so many unnecessary deaths. The Bolsheviks won the civil war in 1919. “He [Stalin] dreamed of the electrification of all Russia, and began to make it come true in the midst of the famine and desolation of the years of civil war” (Murphy, 1945). Stalin was beginning to become more powerful throughout this time period. He still did not have a huge role in the Russian Civil War, but he was working his way up to the top.

The Polish-Soviet War took place in 1920. Stalin was determined to capture the Polish city of Lviv. He refused to assist anyone else with their battles, and would only work towards gaining Lviv. Stalin ended up losing the city of Lviv, and Trotsky lost the city of Warsaw because Stalin would not assist him in the battle. Stalin was blamed for both of these losses, and resigned from his military position. It was later agreed on by everyone involved that this war was a mistake, and it should have never happened.

Stalin quickly rose to power once Lenin had appointed him to be General Secretary in 1922. The Marx-Engels-Lenin Institute said:

On Lenin’s motion, the Plenum of the Central Committee, on April 3, 1922, elected Stalin, Lenin’s faithful disciple and associate, General Secretary of the Central Committee, a post at which he has remained ever since (Marx-Engels-Lenin Institute, 1947).

Stalin was now able to appoint his own allies to have government positions. In 1924, Lenin died, and Stalin could officially call himself the leader of the USSR. Before Lenin died, he had a falling out with Stalin, and he criticized him in a letter to Congress saying, “Stalin, having become General Secretary, consolidated his immense power, and I’m not sure whether he will always care enough to use that power” (Lenin, 1924). Stalin continued to gain more and more power throughout his time as leader, and before Lenin died, he feared that Stalin would not be able to handle such a great deal of responsibility.

Joseph Stalin continued to rise in power, and “had eliminated all likely potential opposition to his leadership by late 1934” (Repression and Terror). Stalin actually expelled people, such as Leon Trotsky and Lev Kamenev, who he thought threatened him, from the Communist party. Stalin was the “unchallenged leader of both party and state” (Repression and Terror). By 1939, Stalin had brought the public and the party to a state that was submissive to his rule. The Soviet people were so fearful of Stalin that he no longer had to threaten them with mass arrests; he was the absolute dictator. This was all that Stalin had ever wanted, and this was the highest point in Stalin’s long and oppressive rule over the Soviet Union.

Stalin’s reign over the Soviet Union was comprised numerous major changes to Soviet society. One of the largest changes to society was the tremendous increase in secret police throughout the Soviet Union. The secret police group was in charge of arresting and executing all those who opposed Stalin’s regime. They were also used to spy on the other members of the Communist party and oust those who went against Stalin’s reign of the Soviet Union. According to the article, “Secret Police,” from the Library of Congress Web Site stated:

Under party leader Joseph Stalin, the secret police again acquired vast punitive powers and in 1934 was renamed the People’s Comissariat for Internal Affairs, or NKVD. No longer subject to party control or restricted law, the NKVD became a direct instrument of Stalin for use against the party and the country during the Great Terror of the 1930s (Secret Police).

The secret police was the most powerful and the most feared change that Stalin had brought to society. The NKVD led to the creation of the KGB, the secret police group after Stalin’s time of rule. The secret police is the main example of the changes Stalin made to society and the way that he took his power to the extreme.

Another one of the major changes that Stalin made to the society of the Soviet Union was his cult of personality. Stalin was surrounded by people who promoted him and made him seem like such a great person. In the book, Animal Farm, by George Orwell, Squealer was the assistant to the leader Napoleon. Squealer was constantly speaking to the people and persuading them into believing that Napoleon was a strong and powerful leader, when he really was not. Squealer was Napoleon’s cult of personality. Without these people surrounding Stalin, people would have seen his weaknesses and not treated him with the respect that they gave him at the beginning of his reign. Anna Louise Strong said:

Stalin’s own personality began to be more widely known. His picture and slogans became so prominent in the Soviet Union that foreigners found this “idolatry” forced and insincere. Most Soviet folk of my acquaintance really do feel tremendous devotion to Stalin as the man who has built their country and led it to success. I have even known people to make a temporary change of residence just before election day in order to have the chance to vote for Stalin directly in the district where he was running, instead of for the less exciting candidate from their own district.

Stalin was portrayed as this exciting new leader who would bring the country to greatness. This was the job of his cult of personality. Stalin used this to gain the support of the people and rise in power. He then became the worst nightmare of the people as an absolute dictator, who controlled everything that went on in Soviet society.

Friday, March 25, 2011

During the late 19th century major changes were occurring in Europe, that had to do with the constant class struggles that Marx talked so much about. Figure 1 shows the poorest of the poor people, the proletariats, and how they so struggled to make a living and support their families. Figure 2 shows the upper class bourgeois, who were in control of the factories and had no trouble supporting their families and making a living. The late 19th century was the time period in which Karl Marx began to put his views to action through Marxism, which was a more extreme branch of socialism that advocated for the proletariats to rise up against the wealthy factory owners; thus, beginning the people's fight for their rights.

The first image was most likely created by someone who was bias to towards the proletariats. The proletariats was a term used by Marx in order to describe the poor factory workers. The painter was showing the extremely poor quality of life that the factory workers had because they were put down by the bourgeois. The bourgeois was a term used by Marx to describe the rich factory owners. Marx believed that the factory workers could never move up from their position in society because the current system did not allow them to move up. He believed that the proletariats should rise up against the rich factory owners, and destroy the current system. The current economic system in place was capitalism. Marx wrote Das Kapital, a critique of capitalism and a history of economics. He was strongly against capitalism because it only allowed around two percent of people to be wealthy and extremely successful. The rest of the people made up the poor and middle class. The first image appears to show people riding on a train. It is obvious that all of the bourgeois are sitting together in the train, and the proletariats are forced to ride alone in the back of the train. This is just a simple example of how people were truly separated and unequal under capitalism.

The second image was probably created by a painter who was bias towards the rich bourgeois. It shows the wealthy factory owners strolling around on a street in France. The people seem to be taking a leisurely walk on the street without a care in the world, while the proletariats are forced to work in the horrible conditions of the factories. The people had absolutely no labor rights, and they were forced to work 14 hour days in order to support their families. Children were also forced to work long hours. Unionism was one of the groups rising up in Europe at this time. They created labor unions that would protest for the rights of workers, usually peacefully. Marx advocated for people to rise up and complete destroy the current economic system. Marxism is a much more extreme version of unionism. Marx would have most likely been outraged by the second painting because it shows how the wealthy the bourgeois were and how they had to do no work in order to make a living. They stole the money that their workers made and used it for their own luxury. These are the things that made Marx completely outraged against the factory owners.

Marx wrote the Communist Manifesto in 1848 along with Engels. It described the beliefs of the communist party, and how the current economic system was just not sustainable for society. This manifesto had no effect whatsoever on the revolutions of the time. Something that had huge effects on the people of the time were works of art. The paintings above would have been extremely influential on the people. The first image exposed the life of the proletariats and the second image exposed the life of the bourgeois.

The first image is a realist painting; it shows how things really looked during that time, and how the proletariats actually lived. The second image is an impressionist painting; it shows the life of the bourgeois, but it does not show how life was actually like in France at that time. It made life seem as if it was easy and luxurious for everyone, but it neglected to show the things that went on in factories and the living conditions of the poor factory workers. The second image shows what life would have looked like to one of the rich factory owners because they only cared about their own luxurious lives. They did not care about the lives of the poor factory workers that they were oppressing. These two paintings show two very different scenes in the lives of people during the late 19th century, but they show that big changes were to come in society.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Joseph Stalin was the brutal leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1922 until his death in 1953. He was a Communist ruler, who was responsible for the deaths of millions of Russian people. He led the Soviet Union through World War II, in which he played a major role in defeating the German Nazi army. Stalin executed or imprisoned anyone who opposed his regime, making him an extremely tyrannical leader. “He took absolute control of nearly every aspect of Soviet life. He dictated where people lived, who held political office, which movies were made, what books and newspapers were published, and what education Soviet children received” (Márquez, 2004). Although Stalin protected Russia by fending off the Nazis, he was an extremely oppressive leader in Russia’s history in the sense that he killed three million Russian people and caused their suffering for many years, which is why Stalin was ultimately more harmful to Russia than beneficial.

Joseph Stalin was born on December 18, 1878 in Gori, Georgia. His parents, Vissarion and Ekaterina, were serfs when he was born. His father later became a cobbler, and was prosperous for a short time. Vissarion began to work at a shoe factory when his business as a cobbler had failed. Stalin was a young child when his father left his home, never to be seen again by his family. Ekaterina was forced to take small jobs in order to support her family of two. Stalin had been beaten by both his mother and his father, which could attribute to the way he chose to run his regime once he became ruler.

Stalin was the best student at his childhood school in Gori, but he would at times get into trouble. He graduated from school in 1894, and his mother urged him to become a priest. He entered the Tbilisi theological seminary at the wish of his mother. Stalin was extremely dedicated to his studies while in the seminary and received excellent grades. However, there were very strict rules in the seminary, and the things that Stalin could read were greatly limited. Stalin himself commented on his experience in the seminary saying, “The whole atmosphere round me was saturated with hatred of Tsarist oppression, and I threw myself whole-heartedly into revolutionary work” (Murphy, 1945). In order to act out against these rules, he created a secret socialist group within the seminary. Stalin’s grades began to fail at the seminary, and he began to act out more and more. He was eventually expelled from the seminary before his sixth and final year could begin because he failed to take the required exam that would advance him forward. This is when he first chose to become a Marxist. Stalin’s difficult early life and restrictive education are what led him to become the tyrannical leader that he was in the twentieth century.

In 1917, the Russian Revolution took place in which the Bolsheviks, a Russian revolutionary group, rose up against the Russian government. Stalin became a member of the committee for the Bolsheviks; they supported Lenin’s view of wanting to overthrow the government. The Bolsheviks rebelled against the government, and the government fought back. Lenin, being the leader, feared for his life during this time period. Lenin’s major role in the Russian Revolution was convincing Lenin to run away to Finland in order to avoid being killed. Stalin was portrayed, through books and pictures from that time period, as having a large and important role in the October and February Revolutions that made up the Russian Revolution; although he really did not even have a role.

In 1918, the Russian Civil War broke out between Lenin’s Red Army and the White Army, an alliance of anti-Bolsheviks. “The Civil War began in Russia. Stalin commanded the forces in Tsaritsyn and St. Petersburg” (Naik). Stalin killed thousands of people who opposed the revolution. He also killed innocent people by burning down villages in order to scare people into cooperating with him. Lenin was disappointed in Stalin for causing so many unnecessary deaths. The Bolsheviks won the civil war in 1919. “He [Stalin] dreamed of the electrification of all Russia, and began to make it come true in the midst of the famine and desolation of the years of civil war” (Murphy, 1945). Stalin was beginning to become more powerful throughout this time period. He still did not have a huge role in the Russian Civil War, but he was working his way up to the top.

The Polish-Soviet War took place in 1920. Stalin was determined to capture the Polish city of Lviv. He refused to assist anyone else with their battles, and would only work towards gaining Lviv. Stalin ended up losing the city of Lviv, and Trotsky lost the city of Warsaw because Stalin would not assist him in the battle. Stalin was blamed for both of these losses, and resigned from his military position. It was later agreed on by everyone involved that this war was a mistake, and it should have never happened.

Stalin quickly rose to power once Lenin had appointed him to be General Secretary in 1922. The Marx-Engels-Lenin Institute said:

On Lenin’s motion, the Plenum of the Central Committee, on April 3, 1922, elected Stalin, Lenin’s faithful disciple and associate, General Secretary of the Central Committee, a post at which he has remained ever since (Marx-Engels-Lenin Institute, 1947).

Stalin was now able to appoint his own allies to have government positions. In 1924, Lenin died, and Stalin could officially call himself the leader of the USSR. Before Lenin died, he had a falling out with Stalin, and he criticized him in a letter to Congress saying, “Stalin, having become General Secretary, consolidated his immense power, and I’m not sure whether he will always care enough to use that power” (Lenin, 1924). Stalin continued to gain more and more power throughout his time as leader, and before Lenin died, he feared that Stalin would not be able to handle such a great deal of responsibility.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Contrast Mazzini and Garibaldi's revolutionary views with those of revolutionaries in France.

The fight for Italian unification was a huge ordeal in Italy's history; this is just like the French Revolution's impact on the French people. Leading fighters in the process of Italian unification were Mazzini and Garibaldi. Garibaldi shared the same views as Mazzini on the topic of Italian unification; they both believed that Italy should become a unified state. The revolutionaries of the French Revolution were fighting for France to become an independent nation. Mazzini and Garibaldi were important revolutionaries in Italian history due to the fact that they both took the view that Italy should become a unified, independent nation, which made them similar to the French revolutionaries who fought for France to become its own, unified, independent nation.

Mazzini came before Garibaldi in Italian history, but he had a huge impact on the views of Garibaldi. Garibaldi believed, like Mazzini, that Italy should become a unified nation. Parts of Italy were being ruled by foreign powers, and they were not able to work together. Rome was one of the leading cities in Italy that did not want to become unified to the rest of Italy. Rome was ruled by the pope and the Vatican; therefore, they did not want to give up some of their power in order to make Italy a unified nation. Eventually, the power of the Vatican was lessened due to a vote by the people; this was one of the steps to Italy becoming a working nation. Mazzini and Garibaldi were very important in Italy's battle for unity because they were such huge supporters of the unification itself.

The revolutionaries during the French Revolution were fighting for France to become an independent nation. The people were tired of their government, which caused them to protest and voice their opinions. These protests eventually broke out into the French Revolution. Thousands of lives were lost during the French Revolution, and it was an extremely devastating time for the French people. These people fighting were showing their contempt for the government through their protesting, which eventually prevailed over the government's power. France was a much stronger and unified nation after they had become independent, despite the devastation that they had endured through such a violent war.

Within the case of Italian unification and the case of the French Revolution, the people were all fighting for a similar cause: independence and unity. The people were fighting for their weak nation to become a stronger one. The people knew that they would be much better off with their own government, but they were going to have to fight hard for it. Mazzini and Garibaldi were the main leaders fighting for Italian unification, which makes them similar to the French revolutionaries who were fighting for their independence. They all knew that they had to voice their opinions in order to create a change in their country. Mazzini and Garibaldi knew that they needed to give the Italian people a voice in order to spark the reaction needed to produce Italy's unification.

Italy's unification and the French Revolution are both huge benchmarks in the countries' histories. They brought about tremendous change, and made each country stronger as individuals. Mazzini and Garibaldi were huge players in the fight for Italian unification, and without them Italy probably would not have been able to become unified. The revolutionaries in France were the people who brought about such an enormous change in their country. Without the people expressing their opinions and protesting, it would have been much more difficult for France to become an independent nation. Italy and France were not fighting for the exact same thing, but they were still fighting for similar things: to make their nations stronger.